Whoah, can't believe I haven't done a journal yet this year...
I actually haven't had time to write anything. Work has been all I've had time for so far this year, and it's been pretty crazy. For those who don't know, I'm a designer for an Australian bicycle company, Apollo Bicycles. We've just finished designing all the new bikes for the upcoming season, and it's been a massive job. We've added a bunch of new bikes to the range, and focused on adding more detail to each of the bikes. We've revised more bikes this season than I think we've ever done before.

For 3 weeks in a row, I was working 14-15 hour days, getting home at around midnight each night. It's by far the biggest thing I've ever worked on, easily the most stressful, but definitely the most rewarding. We've got photos of my designs in now, and the bikes look pretty damn cool. Can't wait to see the rest of them finished, and later, seeing the actual bikes built up for our national shows.

So I've been pretty stressed lately, haven't really had any time to catch up with people, or take any photos at all. In between working either at home or the office on weekends, I've been doing a bit of gaming - my way of unwinding.

About a month back now, I bought myself a new iMac 24". Upgraded the processor and graphics card. This monster flies! It just laughs at any photoshop files I throw at it. I'd like to try some games out on it, to see what it can handle. Loving it so far though. Definitely helps with work, as I can take stuff home to finish. Oh, and I got eyeTV for it, so I can watch HD TV on my mac, pause, rewind and record TV and all that fancy stuff! Nice to be able to record something automatically if I'm out or too busy with work to watch.

I've got about....2 days to unwind a bit before we start on the new catalogue, advertising campaign and website. Definitely a welcome change to staring at decal designs all day, but I just know it's gonna be more stressful than before. I think I'll just take a toothbrush and sleeping bag to work.

In the middle of all this, a mate of mine got married earlier this month, and I was one of the groomsmen. It was a great wedding. What made the time better, was that my girlfriend was able to come out from Japan for a few days for the wedding. I took a few days off work and we had a short trip up to the Gold Coast. Definitely not enough time, but it was great to have some time off work with all the stress I've had to deal with the past few months.

Since I don't really get to read all your journals, let me know what you're all up to in here! How is everyone?